I had totally planned to wait till spring but I just couldn't resist the chance to go chase down some more steel over the Thanksgiving holiday. Met up with a couple buddies for a day drifting the river and a good time was had by all. The water was way up and the weather was way cold so that made for some difficult conditions but we still had a number of hookups. However, only about a quarter of them managed to get in the net. The sad part was all but a couple were right to the boat.. That's just the way it goes though and part of what makes it sooo much fun!!

So for a change of pace on the way home this trip, I decided to share the love with some Lake Erie steelhead and boy was it worth the stop!! I was very fortunate that I happened to hit one of the Western NY tribs just right as the water was coming back down. All I can say, is that it more than made up for the lack of photo opportunities during our float trip... In case you didn't know, sight fishing smaller creeks for lots of big fish is always a heck of a good time. I had so many fish to deal with that I quickly forgot about the ones that got away just days earlier. It really made the trip and the fish gods were definitely looking out for me that day. Not even sure exactly how many I had on or how many I landed but really didn't care... yes, it was just that good!!

Good stuff!
Before too long it will take a Blue Tuna on a flyrod to satisfy you
No point in visiting the Smokies anymore

I guess I will just have to start focusing on those brown tuna in LR next time I make it up there...

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyman

WOW! Really some nice fish. I would love to make that trip one day. May I ask what fly patterns you were fishing?

I wish I could say that they were all taken on hand tied intruder patterns on the swing but unfortunately that was not the case... at least not yet!! Eggs, eggs and more eggs. You can usually get them to hit as long as you change it up enough and have everything else dialed in. It is really about having the right size and or color though more so than the pattern.

Case in point:
scenario - on the float, by late afternoon we all three had switched to orange egg patterns as it is somewhat of a go-to color for late in the day with the conditions that we had. We were all drifting the same run and I hook up! Fight fish, reset, few more drifts, hooked up again! Buddies start asking "which" orange pattern I had?? Everyone's still drifting, no takes for them. I hook up again! My buddy says "that's it, I'm changing!" Switches out to the same size and pattern that I had been using and hooks up on the first drift!

This past trip has really made a believer out of me for the whole "does color really matter" argument, at least with steelhead. Also, small black stones worked here and there as a fall back. And can not stress enough regarding tippet! Usually it needs to be in the 4-6lb range (fluoro) to get consistent hook-ups. Almost all these fish were landed on 6lb and some on 5lb. On higher, stained water, maybe you can get away with 8lb but it would make me anxious, especially if I went all day not getting any takes.. If you need any info on making a trip up there one day, let me know...